"
"You will remain here until you are, captured. Those men will
scour the coast."
"They will find you."
"No."
"Then you must be one of them, that you do not fear them."
"I do not fear them. But you must go at once. Listen! they
are already on our track."
"Dare you remain?"
"Yes, yes; but you go."
"When shall I see you again?"
"Do you desire to see me?"
"Yes."
"Where do you stay in New York?"
The stranger gave the name of a hotel.
"Your name!"
"Selton."
"I will call at your hotel to-morrow."
"I can depend upon you?"
"Yes."
"Your name?"
"King."
"I will look for you. Come and see me, and you will make your
fortune."
"I will come; and now you hasten away."
The stranger entered the boat, and the detective glided away
in the darkness. Vance had gone but a short distance, when he
saw several men moving along over the sand, and they were
moving toward the cove.
As it proved, Mr. Selton was a good oarsman, and was out of
sight when the men reached the beach.
The detective crept down and listened to what the men said.
The fellows had lanterns with them, and discerning the tracks
of two men on the beach, they argued that both had gone off in
the boat.
"They have got away," said one of the men.
"That's dead sure; and we've lost a good chance."
"What's your idea?"
"The man who beat us was that fellow Ballard. We had him
sure, but now it's all day. He's gone off, and he has no
further call to the coast.
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